The father of Naga Vaishnavi, the nine-year-old girl, who was found murdered by her kidnappers, died of a massive heart attack at a hospital in Vijayawada on Tuesday, reports Ashok Das.

The father of Naga Vaishnavi, the nine-year-old girl, who was found murdered by her kidnappers, died of a massive heart attack at a hospital in Vijayawada on Tuesday.

Businessman Palagani Prabhakar Rao went into a shock on Monday evening, soon after TV channels began flashing pictures of the partly burnt body of his daughter, who was abducted in broad daylight in Vijawada on Saturday morning. Her body was found in a blast furnace in an automobile workshop near Guntur, 30 km from Vijaywada.

Rao was rushed to the family physician but was later shifted to Help Hospital for critical care and trauma management. Cardiologists at Help Hospital said his blood pressure dropped a lot and his heart stopped.

His death, coming soon after the gruesome murder of his daughter, sparked outrage in Vijayawada. Hundreds of people came out onto the streets to demand better policing and strict punishment for the killers.

People called for a shutdown and shops and business establishments responded by downing their shutters. Hundreds of people, including leaders cutting across party lines queued up at Rao’s residence to condole the deaths.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah announced that a fast track court be would be set up in the case.

The Vijayawada police said the murder was the handiwork of Venkat Rao Goud, brother of the deceased Prabhakar Rao’s first wife Venkatramanamma, and Goud’s relative Srinivasa Rao. Venkat Rao Goud had nursed a grudge against Prabhakar Rao after he deserted his first wife.

They hired another person to commit the murder. The kidnappers throttled the girl in the vehicle within 15 minutes of abduction and dumped her body into the furnace, the police said. Venkataramanamma has denied involvement.